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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24405337">boo-lieve it or not</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihyuks/pseuds/kihyuks'>kihyuks</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>hyungwon bingo (round 2) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Monsta X (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(but not really), Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Confessions, Crack, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, changkyuns just a weird lil dude this whole time, hyungwon works in a graveyard, this is kinda cracky ngl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:47:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,393</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24405337</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihyuks/pseuds/kihyuks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>everything about changkyun points to him being a ghost - he barely tells hyungwon any personal information about himself and they've only ever met in the middle of the night in a graveyard. the issue with changkyun being not-so-alive is that hyungwon <i>really</i> doesn't want to have a crush on a ghost. that'd suck pretty bad.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chae Hyungwon/Im Changkyun | I.M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>hyungwon bingo (round 2) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Hyungwon Bingo: Round 2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>boo-lieve it or not</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><span class="small">for the <b>midnight</b> square</span>.</p>
<p>i think this may actually be the most ridiculous thing ive ever written LMAO</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hyungwon’s two week break from work to return home to visit his family had been much needed (even if they had judged his choice in jobs just a little bit), but the issue with taking two weeks off work is that now Hyungwon has to go </span>
  <em>
    <span>back</span>
  </em>
  <span> to work. And, somehow, going back to work after a long break from not doing it makes it so much worse than never having a break at all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon parks his car, switches off his lights and sighs as he looks out to the darkness that greets him. He grabs his torch - a necessity for the job that he does - and his phone, which he forgot to charge and so it’s almost dead (a definite mistake on his part). </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The graveyard in all it’s creepy glory faces him up ahead, looking no different than it did the last time Hyungwon was at work. It never changes, really, because why would it? It’s a graveyard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You see, Hyungwon works the job no one wants to do - a security officer at a graveyard. Recently, the number of grave robberies has been increasing and increasing, and so the council made the decision to hire security officers for the graveyards to try and prevent these robberies from happening. And Hyungwon, freshly out of university with a law degree, had settled on becoming one of these security officers for the time being. It’s not really what he wants to be doing as a job, he wants to be a lawyer of course, but he hadn’t lucked out with getting himself a job at a law firm straight out of university, and so he’d had to do something in the meantime.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That job in the meantime just so happens to be spending his weeknights wandering around an empty graveyard, bored out of his mind. When Hyungwon saw the job listing, he wasn’t sure about it. But, upon realising that it has good pay for what it is (probably because no one else wants to do it), along with the fact that Hyungwon already spends every night awake anyway and he doesn’t believe in ghosts so he doesn’t have to worry about being freaked out, he decided to just go for it. And, so far, it’s done him good. There’s only been one incident of anyone causing trouble for him during the night, and it was a drunk man convinced that his house was around here somewhere. Hyungwon had to call the police down to assist with that one because the man started to get violent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But, other than that, Hyungwon doesn’t think his job is too bad. It pays his bills and it’s easy for the pay he gets, so he won’t complain about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only downside really is how god damn </span>
  <em>
    <span>boring</span>
  </em>
  <span> it is. He just sits there every night in his little station that was built, reading books or watching videos on his phone (when it’s charged, anyway), and then occasionally wandering the grounds just to check that no one’s around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But no one ever is.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that’s why it comes as such a shock that four hours into his shift when the clock strikes midnight and Hyungwon does his hourly walk around the graveyard to check for anyone that he finds a man (boy?) sitting on a bench deep in the middle of the area.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he’s eating a sandwich.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon blinks and rubs his eyes, just to make sure he’s not imagining the sight in front of him, but no. There is absolutely a man sitting on that bench eating a sandwich.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So many questions run through Hyungwon’s mind. Why is this man in the graveyard? Who is he? Why is he eating a sandwich?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, hello,” Hyungwon says as he approaches the man. He probably should be more confident as a security officer but, well, this isn’t a situation he expected. He’d had some minimal training before he was thrown into it, but that had only focused on people doing shady stuff, not eating a damn sandwich. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man looks over at Hyungwon like he didn’t expect anyone else to be here which probably is the case. It’s not common to be hanging out in graveyards at midnight. “Oh, hi.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you, like, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man frowns and tilts his head to the side. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re sitting in a graveyard in the middle of the night eating a sandwich,” Hyungwon points out. “That’s not really what people do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s what I do,” the man defends. “Am I not allowed?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon groans. Why does he have to be difficult? This is absolutely not what Hyungwon signed up for. “I mean, no, you’re allowed, but…” Hyungwon trails off. What does he even say in a situation like this?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Hyungwon stands there, trying to think of what to say, the man continues to eat his sandwich like it’s the most normal thing in the world.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, when his sandwich is finally finished, he stands and approaches Hyungwon. Now that he’s closer, Hyungwon realises that he’s actually kinda cute, and also just a little bit shorter than Hyungwon. The man pats Hyungwon’s shoulder and says, “It was nice meeting you…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It takes Hyungwon a moment to realise that he’s being asked for his name. “Oh. Hyungwon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Changkyun.” They shake hands briefly. “Anyway, I have to get going. See you around, Hyungwon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then almost as if he was never there, the man disappears into the night, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon stands there by the bench completely dumbfounded. What just happened?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pulls himself out of his confused trance and finishes off his rounds of the graveyard, but he finds nothing else unusual. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon returns to his station, head still in the clouds, and throughout the rest of his shift he feels distracted and out of it. He’s not entirely convinced that he’s awake. Maybe this is all some weird dream, and when Hyungwon wakes up he’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> have to go to his first shift back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But no, when Hyungwon pinches himself it hurts (really bad, actually) so that must’ve just happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun is strange, Hyungwon decides when it’s nearing the end of his shift and he’s spent the whole time thinking about the interaction he’s just had. He also wonders if he’ll ever see Changkyun again. He’s been the only interesting part of his job so far.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Days pass and there’s no reappearance of the mysterious Changkyun. Hyungwon reaches the point where he’s convinced he made Changkyun up, that he was just a figment of his imagination to try and cure Hyungwon’s boredom of his job, or maybe he was simply part of a dream Hyungwon had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But as soon as he convinces himself that Changkyun never even existed, Changkyun makes his return.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s midnight once again and Hyungwon is falling asleep in his chair. Despite already having consumed two lattes he bought from Starbucks earlier and also having his thermos filled with even more coffee right beside him, he just can’t seem to stay awake. Every hour on the hour he’s supposed to do his routinely walk around the grounds, but he never finds anything, and so he decides to skip this hour because he’s just so comfortable in his chair that moving sounds like far too much of an effort. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes slowly begin to close and he feels himself start to drift off. Sleeping on the job is the last thing he should be doing, but he’s just </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> tired. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then he hears it. It’s quiet, off in the distance, but Hyungwon is pretty sure he can hear someone singing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sits up properly in his chair, back straight, and strains his ears, and sure enough he can hear singing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Who the fuck is singing at midnight in a graveyard?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon reluctantly pulls himself out of his chair to go investigate the sound. He follows it until he finds that same bench that he found Changkyun on last time and once again Changkyun is sitting there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But this time instead of eating a sandwich, he’s singing happy birthday. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, hello again, Changkyun,” Hyungwon says awkwardly. How is he supposed to greet someone in a graveyard? Especially when they’re not actually doing anything wrong. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun abruptly stops singing and turns his head to look at Hyungwon with a smirk on his face. “You remembered my name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hard to forget, really.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun pats the space next to him on the bench as an invitation to sit down and Hyungwon, surprising himself, accepts Changkyun’s invitation and takes a seat. “So, what brings you here?” Changkyun asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon lets out a laugh at that. “I work here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You work… here?” Changkyun gestures to the graveyard around them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m the security officer,” Hyungwon explains.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun blanches. “Graveyards have security officers? You’re joking me, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s because of all the robberies that have been happening recently. Well, they stopped once we all got hired, but you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, so you hang around in a graveyard all night?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon raises an eyebrow. “At least I’m being paid to be here. What’s your excuse?” He’s curious about Changkyun, more curious than he probably should be about a stranger, but he can’t help but take the opportunity to ask the question. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no reason,” Changkyun replies vaguely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It only serves to increase Hyungwon’s curiosity even further. But, he lets it go. If Changkyun isn’t going to tell him then Hyungwon isn’t going to make it obvious that he wants to know, plus he’s a stranger and Hyungwon knows not to push someone he doesn’t know. There could be a sensitive reason Changkyun is here - it is a graveyard, after all - so he doesn’t push. Instead, Hyungwon asks, “So, Changkyun, is there anything else I should know about you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Curious, are we?” Changkyun asks in reply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And yes, Hyungwon is curious. “You keep dodging my questions,” Hyungwon points out. He’s not angry, just stating a simple fact. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I don’t like answering questions,” Changkyun says mysteriously. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re an interesting one,” Hyungwon comments. Then, he stands, because it’s starting to get cold and Hyungwon wants to return to his warm booth where he also has his coffee to warm him up. Talking to Changkyun is interesting, but warmth always comes first. “I gotta get going.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See you later, Hyungwon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon walks away, but before he gets too far he realises that there’s one more question he needs to ask before he goes. “By the way,” he says, turning back to look at Changkyun, “who were you singing happy birthday to?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s always someone’s birthday somewhere in the world.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun returns to the graveyard more and more frequently over the coming days, and Hyungwon finds himself enjoying Changkyun’s company more than he expected. Changkyun still remains as mysterious as he alway is, dodging Hyungwon’s questions or giving vague answers when Hyungwon tries to find out anything about who Changkyun actually is as a person, but he manages to hold interesting conversations anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In return, Hyungwon shares things with Changkyun about himself. Partially to try and prompt Changkyun to do the same, which he does by slipping some vague information about himself into other conversation, but also because he finds himself genuinely wanting to let Changkyun get to know him. He finds it easy to talk to Changkyun, to share things about himself, even if the circumstances under which they met, and continue to meet, aren’t the most conventional in the world. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me about your friends,” Changkyun says in lieu of a proper greeting towards Hyungwon as he takes a seat on the bench beside Changkyun at exactly midnight, the time they always meet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon’s used to it now, though, the way Changkyun just jumps straight into a conversation. “Well what do you want to know?” Hyungwon asks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anything. We’re friends now, so I want to know who your other friends are. How we compare and stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A warmth blooms in Hyungwon’s chest when Changkyun describes them as friends. Sure, they’ve been talking every day now, but Changkyun’s so mysterious that Hyungwon’t wasn’t sure if he enjoyed Hyungwon’s company or not. It seems he does. “Well, there’s six of us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Six, huh? That’s a lot,” Changkyun says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess,” Hyungwon agrees. He doesn’t know if it really is a lot or not. They’ve slowly grown over the years to the number they have now. Maybe Changkyun will be the seventh, but that’s a question for another time. “There’s me, Hyunwoo, Jooheon, Hoseok, Kihyun and Minhyuk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you all meet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon laughs as he thinks back to it. “Well, Jooheon and I have been friends since we were kids. Hyunwoo we met at school and Hoseok’s his best friend, so that’s how we met him. Minhyuk, well, he quite literally fell into Jooheon’s lap once and they’ve been friends ever since, so then the rest of us became friends with him, and Kihyun’s Minhyuk’s long term boyfriend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have a boyfriend?” Changkyun asks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon didn’t expect him to be so direct, but answers regardless. “Nope.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun grins. “Good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon doesn’t know what that means. Does it even mean anything? Should he take that as some sort of hint that Changkyun likes him? Hyungwon has no idea how to interpret that, but he doesn’t have time to properly mull over it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me more. What are they like?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Hyungwon tells him. He describes each of his friends to Changkyun, talks about his favourite memory with each of them, and when he’s done talking his throat is sore from talking so much. He should grab a bottle of water when he gets back to his station. “What about you?” Hyungwon asks, unable to stop his curiosity. “What are your friends like?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun doesn’t reply. He stares off into the distance, a strange look on his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Changkyun?” Hyungwon prompts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun looks at him with this sad, faraway look in his eyes. “I don’t have friends anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And how does one reply to a comment like that? Hyungwon doesn’t know what Changkyun means by ‘anymore’, but it’s not like he can ask him now. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he settles for. Not the best reply, but it’s the only one he can come up with.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have you now. It’s okay.” Changkyun smiles at him, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon regrets asking the question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their conversation continues on, Hyungwon telling Changkyun about the time Minhyuk set a toaster on fire, but he can tell something is strained between them now. Changkyun just seems distant, not completely in the present.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon just has to hope that the next time they see each other he’ll be back to his usual self.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun is, thankfully, back to normal the next day. He’s joking and laughing and acting like his usual self and Hyungwon feels the relief flood through him. He has no idea what he’d do if Changkyun was still acting strange, especially knowing that it was caused by him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Hyungwon,” Changkyun says, and there’s a mischievous tone in his voice, which makes Hyungwon nervous, “can I ask you something?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You already did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun rolls his eyes so perfectly that Hyungwon has to pause for a moment to appreciate it. If anything was a textbook perfect eyeroll, it would be the one Changkyun just did. “Can I kiss you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon’s brain short circuits. “You— Huh?” he replies intelligently. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to never get the chance, so can I kiss you? I don’t mind if you say no.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And while time continues on, the wind rustling the leaves of the trees, an owl hooting in the distance, the rumble of a car occasionally driving by, it feels like time is on pause for Hyungwon. He feels frozen. His brain feels frozen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I— Sure?” Hyungwon replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t sound sure,” Changkyun says, his voice uncharacteristically small and shy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon realises that Changkyun is nervous. He’d sounded so confident at first and he’s always been so confident with Hyungwon that he didn’t even consider that Changkyun could be nervous, but he clearly is. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Hyungwon realises not only that he can’t say no, but that he doesn’t want to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without a verbal reply, Hyungwon leans in across the bench until his face is only centimetres from Changkyun’s. He can feel the hot puffs of breath from Changkyun’s mouth hit his face, and it tickles ever so slightly. “Are you sure about this?” Hyungwon asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought it was you who wasn’t sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then I am too,” Changkyun says. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next second the gap is closed and they’re kissing. Hyungwon freezes, the warmth from Changkyun’s lips after feeling the cold of the night shocking him, but then brings his hand up to cup Changkyun’s cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They break apart after a few seconds, just a short, sweet kiss, but Hyungwon keeps his eyes closed, suddenly too nervous to open them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hyungwon?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon opens his eyes and sees Changkyun’s warm brown eyes looking into his own. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Changkyun sees Hyungwon’s eyes open, he smiles, a small, subtle smile. “Thank you for doing that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No problem.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Changkyun starts talking about himself for once, a story from his childhood that he remembered and wanted to tell Hyungwon, but Hyungwon can’t focus on it. All he can think about is that he just kissed Changkyun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He really just kissed Changkyun. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Hyungwon realises, while Changkyun opens up to him for the first time since they met, that he has a crush on Changkyun. </span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon hasn’t seen his friends in weeks, not since he went back to work and had to get used to regular people’s schedules again and prepare himself to be awake at midday for a lunch meeting instead of asleep because of his job schedule. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He spots Hoseok and Hyunwoo, the only ones of his friends who were free today, and goes over to join them. “So, I have news,” Hyungwon says as he sits down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyunwoo raises an eyebrow while Hoseok sits forward in his seat, intrigued. “What is this news?” Hoseok asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I have a crush.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s no reaction for a few seconds, before Hoseok breaks out into a huge smile. “You do? Who is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon feels shy all of a sudden. “His name’s Changkyun.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’d you meet?” Hyunwoo asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At work. We’ve been talking a lot while I’ve been working,” Hyungwon explains.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hoseok raises an eyebrow at that. “You met him in a graveyard? Isn’t that a pretty strange place to meet someone?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon shrugs. It is pretty weird, sure, but, well, sometimes people do meet under strange circumstances. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, what does he do? Is he a student? Does he have a job?” Hyunwoo asks, leaning forward to show his interest in the topic, even if he keeps his voice neutral. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Hyungwon realises he can’t answer that question. He doesn’t know what Changkyun does. He doesn’t know whether he goes to university, whether he’s ever gone to university, or whether he’s working already. “I don’t actually know,” he admits. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, what’s his surname?” Hoseok questions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I also don’t know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon realises he doesn’t know a lot about Changkyun’s personal life, nothing about it really, he only knows about Changkyun’s personality. He loves Changkyun’s personality, he thinks he’s one of the best people he’s ever met, but he never even stopped to consider how little he actually knows about Changkyun’s life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon chooses not to say anything, which gives the answer that Hoseok and Hyunwoo need. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hyungwon, you have a crush on a ghost,” Hoseok says suddenly, eyes wide. “That’s why you met him at the graveyard and why he doesn’t want to tell you too many things about himself. He doesn’t want you to figure it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon laughs because the idea is so ridiculous. He doesn’t even believe in ghosts, Hoseok knows that. “He’s not a ghost. He’s a person. He’s not see-through and I can touch him, that’s not what ghosts are like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, maybe all the movies got it wrong. Maybe that’s exactly what ghosts are like,” Hoseok argues. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon turns to Hyunwoo with a pleading look. “Tell him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyunwoo gives a half smile. “I don’t know, Hyungwon, it is really suspicious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You both really think he’s a ghost? This is absurd.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, more signs point to ghost than human.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon can’t believe what he’s hearing, so he changes the subject to asking Hoseok about his big project that he’s been working on at his job. Hoseok tells Hyungwon all about it excitedly, proud of everything that he’s been doing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But even as Hyungwon listens to it, his mind is elsewhere. He’s stuck on thinking about Hoseok’s ridiculous claim that Changkyun is a ghost. But, the more he thinks about it, the less ridiculous it sounds. He really doesn’t know much about Changkyun, he met him in a graveyard, and Changkyun’s never asked to meet Hyungwon outside of work or during any time but the middle of the night. Sure, Hyungwon has never asked Changkyun either, but with how direct Changkyun is and everything else, Hyungwon can’t help but think that maybe Hoseok’s statement has some truth to it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon just really hopes he doesn’t have a crush on a ghost. That’d be really damn unfortunate. </span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon and Changkyun have been sitting together without talking for a while, but Changkyun is playing music from his phone to fill the silence. It’s exactly what Hyungwon needs right now, to sit with Changkyun in the quiet and have his presence beside him while he works through his thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about what Hoseok had said about Changkyun being a ghost. It’s ridiculous, completely absurd. Changkyun’s thigh is pressed against Hyungwon’s, he can feel the heat from his body, yet there’s still a huge part of Hyungwon’s brain that tells him it’s a trick. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon turns his head slightly so he can look at Changkyun out of the corner of his eye, observe him as he thinks. Changkyun looks alive. He’s not deadly pale, he’s very much a normal colour, and Hyungwon can see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes. He also has seen Changkyun eating and drinking which he can’t imagine ghosts need to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And yet, despite all the evidence in front of him, and not even believing in ghosts, the fact that he doesn’t know much about Changkyun, as well as having met him at a graveyard, tells Hyungwon that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>must</span>
  </em>
  <span> be a ghost.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe he’s irrational, but it’s all Hoseok’s fault. Clearly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, can I ask you something really stupid and kinda sensitive?” Hyungwon blurts out, not aware of his own words until they’re already out of his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, there’s no going back now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure?” Changkyun says, confusion written clearly all over his face. “What is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And now that he’s already said it, that he can’t take it back, Hyungwon isn’t so sure he wants to do this. What if Changkyun </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a ghost? Then what does he do? How does one cope with befriending and then catching feelings for a dead person? There’s no guidebook for that, but Hyungwon could really do with one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But then there’s also the possibility that Hyungwon’s got it all wrong and embarrasses himself because Hoseok planted the ridiculous idea in his mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, Hyungwon takes a deep breath, steels himself, and says, “Okay, look, so I was telling my friend how I kinda like you and he was asking me questions and I realised I don’t know a lot about you and then he suggested that maybe you’re a ghost and now I can’t get the idea out of my head so please tell me are you a ghost or not?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun doesn’t react for a few seconds, the only indication that he’s heard what Hyungwon said being the ever so slight widening of his eyes. Then, Changkyun bursts into laughter. He doubles over, clutching his chest as he howls in laughter. This goes on for a few minutes before Changkyun manages to calm himself down and pull himself back into a sitting position. Wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes, he says, “No, I’m not a ghost. Very much alive, thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, thank god,” Hyungwon mutters. “I’m not sure what I’d have done if I found out I kissed a dead dude.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun smiles lopsidedly. “Im Changkyun, born 26th January, 1996. I work as a music producer and I work better at night, so I have a weird sleep schedule. I come to the graveyard because my grandparents are buried here and it makes me feel closer to them. Don’t give me that pitying look,” he warns. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon schools his expression back into neutral. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m a very private person, and that’s why I was so vague with you. I’ll open up more from now on so you don’t think I’m dead.” Changkyun stops talking and Hyungwon thinks he’s finished, but then he finally adds, “Oh, and I have a crush on you too, by the way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon frowns. “How’d you know I have a crush on you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun laughs again, but a smaller laugh this time. Not the full blown laughter he’d had before. “You don’t remember what you said, do you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hyungwon thinks back to his words earlier, but he can’t remember what he said. It all just came out in a ramble. “Well, since I just told you now, anyway, how about a date, Not-Ghost-Changkyun?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hopefully outside of this graveyard,” Changkyun says cheekily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“God, yes. I’m not morbid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, you kissed me even though you thought I was dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Hyungwon says indignantly. “I kissed you </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span> I decided you were a ghost.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun smirks. “Well now we’ve established I’m very much not dead, want to do it again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And as much as Hyungwon wants to agree, they’re still sitting in a graveyard, and it feels to weird to kiss Changkyun here a second time. “I’ll kiss you after our first date. I need to make sure you can actually leave this place and that you appear in the daytime.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Changkyun rolls his eyes, but there’s no malice behind it. All over his face is just happiness, Hyungwon can see it clearly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He knows that same happiness is reflected back on his own face.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>kudos n comments appreciated :3</p>
<p>twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/changkihyks/">@changkihyks</a><br/>cc: <a href="https://curiouscat.me/changkihyks?t=1559413679/">changkihyks</a><br/></p></blockquote></div></div>
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